Featured Reading Guide
John O'Hara
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John O Hara was born in Pennsylvania on 31 January 1905. His first novel, Appointment in Samarra (1934), won him instant acclaim, and quickly came to be regarded as one of the most prominent writers in America. He won the National Book Award for his novel Ten North Frederick and had more stories published in the New Yorker than anyone in the history of the magazine. His fourteen novels include A Rage to Live , Pal Joey , BUtterfield 8 and From the Terrace . John O Hara died on 11 April 1970.
topAbout the Book
topJohn O'Hara interview/review
topStarting Points for Discussion
- Why do you think Gloria really took Emily Ligget’s mink coat? Was it to make sure that Weston contacted her again?
- Do you think that had Gloria had a stronger mother – a mother who protected her and believed her claims of molestation – she would have led a different life?
- At one point in the novel Gloria says to Eddie: ‘I know what’s right. But I’m so strongly tempted’. Why does she find it so hard to resist temptation?
- Gloria epitomizes freedom and adventure, something Weston craves as a middle-aged, unhappily married man. Do you think that Weston really ever loved Gloria?
- How do you explain Ligget’s tireless pursuit of the mink coat, even after Gloria’s death?
- The novel is rich in detail and O’Hara paints an intricate portrait of life in Manhattan in the early 1930s. Do you think that O’Hara’s portrayal of human relationships is particular to this time in American history, given The Great Depression and the Prohibition, or is he writing about universal and intrinsically human characteristics?
- Why does Gloria not bring charges against Dr Reddington for his sexual exploitation of her?
- Do you think that Dr Reddington suffers any kind of retribution at the end of the novel? Is his a happy ending?
Other Books by John O'Hara
Appointment in Samarra
Appointment in Samarra is a fast-paced, blackly comic depiction of the rapid…
BUtterfield 8
On this Sunday morning in May, this girl who was later to be the cause of a …
Suggested Further Reading
NON-FICTION
- The Art Of Burning Bridges. A Life of John O’Hara ~ Geoffrey Wolff
FICTION
- Appointment In Samarra ~ John O’Hara
- The Great Gatsby ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Revolutionary Road ~ Richard Yates
FILM
- BUtterfield 8 (1960). Directed by Daniel Man. Starring Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey.